Baskets from Nature

Instructor: Louisa Lenz-Porter

Skill Level: Beginner & Intermediate

Art Stay II – August 19 – 23, 2019

Class Enrollment Status: Accepting Students

This is a hands-on, step by step workshop well suited for those new to the art of basket weaving as well as intermediate basket weavers. During the class we will create a “Twin-Bottom” Egg Basket – a useful and colorful art piece. We’ll start the process with a hike along the river, in the garden and up to the lake to collect natural materials for our baskets. We’ll then return to our outdoor class space where I’ll walk each student through the process of creating their baskets using the natural materials we have gathered, along with have other cordage type materials for weaving that I’ll provide for purchase.

Additional Supplies Students Should Bring to the Workshop: Please bring a pair of pruning shears, hiking shoes, sun hat and water bottle.

Additional Required Supply Fee: $40 for the for the additional cordage type materials for weaving.

Workshop Reviews

” I thoroughly enjoyed Louisa’s basket making class. She is a fabulous teacher and it was a pleasure to get to know her. It was very eye opening to walk around Emandal and gather 75% of the materials we would use. We gathered Red Willow, Bay, Ivy and much more to incorporate into our baskets. I love the idea that nature will provide much of what we need if we just know where to look. I finished one large basket that I will always treasure.” – Sarah Sirchuk

“Louisa is a knowledgeable, gentle, well-spoken, patient gardener and nature woman, who goes out of her way to be an excellent basket-making instructor. One of the best weekends I ever spent was a weekend with Louisa and a bunch of us learning all about the various reeds/branches/items from nature that we were using, and all the artful steps it took to make a really original, beautiful basket. Spoken by someone who is not creative or arty. And Louisa is one of the most genuine lovely humans I have known. I recommend her basket-making class whole-heartedly, to anybody. Namaste” – Joan Senz

“I hadn’t a CLUE of how baskets were made and Louisa has encyclopedic knowledge of what plant limbs to use, and how to harvest and use them. She even generously brought a huge supply of sea weed to use for making the basket corners. She made it so fun, we all learned a lot, and we managed to complete our baskets in one Art Stay. In fact, I completed a frame for a 2nd little one that I finished at home. ” – Terry Rodriguez

“Taking Louisa’s “Baskets from Nature” class was one of the best 2-days I’ve spent! She gathers plant materials from all over Emandal, in different textures, colors and thickness, and knows how each will work in basket-making. Although the basket making was not easy, and was even somewhat strenuous, Louisa was the most patient, friendly and truly expert teacher that it made the work lots of fun. I felt a HUGE sense of accomplishment after the class and to this day use my basket year-round for Easter eggs, Christmas ornaments, fall foliage, fruit, Trick or Treats, to name just a few.” – Margaret Reeves

About the Instructor

Louisa Lenz-Porter has been making baskets for 20 years. She specializes in making pine needle, coiled, rib, and market type baskets, from what nature provides us with.

She is a master gardener and crafter and loves to use what she can grow or collect in the wild. Living at Emandal as a gardener gave her an abundance of weaving materials, where she was able to develop the Twin-bottom egg basket using just nature’s bounty.